# my Cuban Christmas



## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

Santa came early for me this year.

Monte #4's, My faves!








yummy!








Petit edmundo's and Opus X








a few coffins of culebras








look at the bloom on these babies! They're all like that.


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## bdw1984 (May 6, 2009)

hey trev, are you sure that's plume on those culebras? may just be the pic but that sure looks like mold to me... just trying to look out brother


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## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

Brother, I hate to tell you but that is not bloom but it is mold.


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

Yikes, I thought it was just bloom. I'll email the pictures to the vendor and get his response.


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## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

Trev said:


> Yikes, I thought it was just bloom. I'll email the pictures to the vendor and get his response.


I can almost tell you what his response will be. He will most likely say that it is bloom. *It is not!*

As bad as it is I would settle for nothing less than a replacement or a refund for those sticks. If it was just a little bit then I would say to just brush it off and enjoy but as bad as it is I would think that it has already gotten in the foot and is therefore inside of the cigar.


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

I've sent an email with pictures and made a point of saying that it's not bloom, but in fact mould. I'll wait and see what happens, but I have to give him the chance to correct it before I can say much. He's been in business for a long time now so we'll see how he reacts to it.
I guess there's a good lesson in there for a newb like me. That is to say I'll be able to recognize mould more easily from now on. I had considered changing my original post, but I somehow get a strange kick out of my own excited state of ignorance.


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## bdw1984 (May 6, 2009)

don't feel bad, i know a lot of brother's who have mistaken mold for plume, its common.... the whole point of this forum is to gain info and share our love of cigars, hence the brother in brother of the leaf... as donnie said, accept nothing less than a full refund or exchange in which they pay the shipping costs... heres a link to a thread started by glockg23 with some great video and more info on plume vs. mold
http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/general-cigar-discussion/253371-mold-plume-2.html


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## SirR (Aug 15, 2009)

That is definitely mold!


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## fuente~fuente (May 11, 2009)

I'm glad you took it so well Trev... I almost a spit a mouth full of pasta salad all over my screen when you said to look at the bloom on these babies.:lol: Not out of laughter, but of of shear shock! I was like... HO-WEE SHLLLLPPE!!!:rotfl: No joke...

If it makes you feel better... The rest of that haul is outfrickinstanding!!! And I'm insanely jelous!!! Even though your Culebra is a petri dish.:tongue1: Anyway... You know the difference now. 

Hope everything works out OK... I'm sure he'll make it right.:nod:

Enjoy those sticks brother!!!


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

Trev, nice haul. I am confident that your supplier will replace the gars, seeing as they come from Havana House. There is no doubt that this in fact mold. Enjoy, the Monte 4's are a great gar.


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## iRace559 (Aug 27, 2009)

Maybe its just the picture, but those Monte bands look a little dark to me.


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

Thanks guys, I'm too old to be embarrassed or upset about it, it just takes too much energy to put up that kind of a façade. I'm here to learn, and that's what I'm doing, thanks to you guys. It still makes me chuckle that I thought that was bloom, but if I can't laugh at myself then who _can_ I laugh at?
I'm thrilled with the rest of the order! The monte #4's are dynamite for a newb like me and I'm dying to try the petit edmundos and Opus X's. I'll try one and let the rest sit.
Ben, thanks for the link to that video, it makes it so much easier to see the difference compared to a regular photo.
Chris, it's likely the picture. These came through Havana House who liaisons imports for the whole country. It's not hard to get the real thing up here.


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## BTcigars (Jun 30, 2009)

Merry Christmas to you...those culebras look mighty fine! 
Be sure to enjoy the other sticks.


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

BTcigars said:


> Merry Christmas to you...those culebras look mighty fine!
> Be sure to enjoy the other sticks.


Thanks Brandon, same to you brother.

*Update on my mouldy sticks*
I heard right back from the vendor and it was a good experience. They're replacing them right away and having the supplier inspect the replacements, prior to shipping. They (the vendor) don't stock these ones but order them as needed. They only asked me once if I was sure it was mould and not bloom and I said yes. They then went on to say it's often a problem with the culebras because of the moisture level required to braid them like that, and really, that makes sense too. I guess not all the moisture gets out before it hits the humidor and that makes it a tricky situation. The minor shipping charge I will incur returning these sticks goes as a credit on my next order (my choice- or a visa credit if I'd rather) and they send my new ones next day delivery. They also said I may end up just keeping the mouldy ones, but their boss has to weigh in on that one yet. I don't care anyway because I won't smoke that mouldy shizzle. I'll likely have to send them back as that's how they get credit for damaged (or mouldy) stock. These boxes are shipped out un-opened because people get tense when they order a new box of cubans and it comes with a broken seal. I understand that totally. This time I'll expect them opened and inspected prior to me recieving them.
I like these guys- they seem easy to deal with. It's my first time dealing with them but I was happy that they took it very, very seriously and got right on it. Good for them, and me.
One more thing, I went and re-checked the ones I got and there's really only one bad coffin out of the 3. The other 2 I may be able to save with a little isopropyl. I'll have to think about that. It may make more sense to send them all back and get all new ones that have been checked out first.
I'll decide tonight.
In the mean time I'm keeping them in a big ziplock bag away from my tupperdors.


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## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

Sounds like you have a great vendor! :tu If you do get to keep the others I would take a soft cloth and gently wipe the mold off. No need to use isopropyl. I would only do this if there is none in the foot of the cigar.

Glad things worked out good for you.


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## ssutton219 (Apr 17, 2007)

Thats great news!


Good to see a vendor taking care of the issue.



Enjoy!


Shawn


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## GunHand (Sep 20, 2009)

Glad to hear that your vendor is doing right by you. Keep us all posted!!! :wave:


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

Nice pick ahp Trev, I'm glad your vendor is replacing the Culebras. I would inspect the foot of the Culebras and go from there. IF there's signs of internal mold then I would toss them, if not just wipe them off like Donnie said. Enjoy brotha :smoke2:


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

SmoknTaz said:


> Nice pick ahp Trev, I'm glad your vendor is replacing the Culebras. I would inspect the foot of the Culebras and go from there. IF there's signs of internal mold then I would toss them, if not just wipe them off like Donnie said. Enjoy brotha :smoke2:


Thanks guys, you're full of great advice. Taz, I checked the foot of all of them and it doesn't appear to be an internal problem. I'm sending the one coffin back that's obviously heavily infected, but the other two are in not bad shape at all with only a few spots on each bundle. I'm keeping them and going to wipe them down. I'd like to be able to put them into the humi with the others, but only if I can arrest the problem first. That's why I thought I should use isopropyl on the spots after I've wiped them off.


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## Habanolover (Feb 22, 2006)

Trev said:


> Thanks guys, you're full of great advice. Taz, I checked the foot of all of them and it doesn't appear to be an internal problem. I'm sending the one coffin back that's obviously heavily infected, but the other two are in not bad shape at all with only a few spots on each bundle. I'm keeping them and going to wipe them down. I'd like to be able to put them into the humi with the others, but only if I can arrest the problem first. That's why I thought I should use isopropyl on the spots after I've wiped them off.


Trev, just wipe them off with a soft cloth or brush. I would keep the separate from the other sticks for a couple of weeks and then if there is no issue go ahead and add them in with the others.


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## ericdriscoll (Jan 4, 2009)

> Trev, just wipe them off with a soft cloth or brush. I would keep the separate from the other sticks for a couple of weeks and then if there is no issue go ahead and add them in with the others.
> __________________


Good Idea.


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## JDubb760 (May 17, 2009)

Niccee love those Montecristo #4's 
Sorry to hear about the culebras that does look like mold but thats good that your vendor is taking care of you and replacing it
Hope you enjoy the smokes brother


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

I forgot to mention I had 1/3 of a Culebra last weekend and it was delicious. http://www.postimage.org/ You are going to http://www.postimage.org/ them!


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

Thanks guys, Jimmy's coming over today so maybe I'll break open one of the good ones and we can try it out. I'll just give em a wipe like suggested, sounds good to me.


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## jsnake (Oct 6, 2009)

Trev, thanks for sharing and posting pics. Glad to hear your vendor ihas great customer service and is making things right. They know how valuable your continued business is with them. Very cool.


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## ca21455 (Jul 23, 2006)

Thanks for sharing your experiences Trev! Glad to hear it sounds like everything will work out.


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## jessejava187 (Aug 25, 2009)

glad it worked out


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## Speedie (Nov 24, 2009)

Hey Trev that's an awesome haul and and its cool your Culebras are being taken care of.

I'm new to this whole scene and was just wondering how much the MC's were, if you don't mind me asking. Around where I'm from (Vaughan), those MC's go for at least 18-24 a stick, which is ridiculous. I was trying to find a way to PM you but i guess i have to get my post count up or something.

I just placed an order for an Atlantic Cigar mixed sampler pack and waiting for that to come through. Much cheaper online, that's for sure!


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

Speedie said:


> Hey Trev that's an awesome haul and and its cool your Culebras are being taken care of.
> 
> I'm new to this whole scene and was just wondering how much the MC's were, if you don't mind me asking. Around where I'm from (Vaughan), those MC's go for at least 18-24 a stick, which is ridiculous. I was trying to find a way to PM you but i guess i have to get my post count up or something.
> 
> I just placed an order for an Atlantic Cigar mixed sampler pack and waiting for that to come through. Much cheaper online, that's for sure!


Hi Speedie, welcome to Puff. 
18-24 is just insane. They're good, but not that good. LOL
We can't discuss CC vendors very much because this is an American based forum, but if you want to email me I can give you some info.


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## havanajohn (Apr 4, 2009)

Nice haul Trev... If it was me, I would send the whole box back, it is the right thing to do. Also at least one CC vendor that I know of offers to open and inspect the cigars before shipping...


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## Trev (Nov 4, 2009)

havanajohn said:


> Nice haul Trev... If it was me, I would send the whole box back, it is the right thing to do. Also at least one CC vendor that I know of offers to open and inspect the cigars before shipping...


I was going to do just that, but then Jimmy came over on Saturday and we really wanted to try them out (well, I did anyway :madgrin.
I wiped the few spots off the 2 good bundles and they turned out to be very clean. The vendor seemed happy to replace just one coffin and in fact has sent it out this morning already, and I've sent the bad one back. It was their suggestion, actually, but they would have replaced the whole thing if I'd wanted them too. They're just great to deal with. They said the next ones would be inspected first, so I should be okay.
After being wiped down and isolated for a few days the good ones have joined the others in the humidor, but I'll be keeping a close eye on them.


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